THREE REFS WILL PATROL NBA GAMES

The NBA Board of Governors voted Tuesday to add a third man to the league's officiating crews beginning next season.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said using three rather than two officials for games had been unanimously proposed by the Competition Committee, and that the Board of Governors had voted "overwhelmingly" to approve the recommendation.The league experimented with using three officials for games during the 1978-79 season. But the practice was eliminated the following year as "too costly." It is expected to add $1 million a year in costs.

College basketball has had three officials working a game for several seasons.